North Carolina · Public charity
Wake County Smart Start Inc
Wake county smart start invests in young children, their families, and a connected early childhood system that supports and prepares them for school and life ahead.
- $22M
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 39
- Grants FY2025
- 34
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 6%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Median grant, FY2025
- $357,000
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $3,082,694
- Organizations funded a year
- 34 to 46
- FY2021 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 4
- Total assets, FY2025
- $4.4M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 6% of the organizations Wake County Smart Start Inc funded were first-time grantees, receiving 1% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $182k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 39 | $22M | 10% |
| FY2024 | 34 | $19M | 6% |
| FY2023 | 38 | $17M | 11% |
| FY2022 | 42 | $15M | 12% |
| FY2021 | 46 | $16M | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2021 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare Network Inc | $12,836,049 | 5 | n/a |
| Wake County Public Schools | $12,351,691 | 5 | n/a |
| Creative Schools Inc | $4,915,694 | 5 | n/a |
| Bright Beginnings of Cary Inc | $4,858,268 | 5 | n/a |
| Primary Beginnings Child Development | $3,934,859 | 5 | n/a |
| Abc Land Inc II | $3,708,482 | 5 | n/a |
| Academically Based Child | $3,520,334 | 5 | n/a |
| Telamon Corporation | $3,373,572 | 5 | 1% |
| Wake County | $3,040,901 | 5 | n/a |
| The Happy Face Preschool | $2,970,482 | 5 | n/a |
Show all 60 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare Network Inc | $12,836,049 | 5 | n/a |
| Wake County Public Schools | $12,351,691 | 5 | n/a |
| Creative Schools Inc | $4,915,694 | 5 | n/a |
| Bright Beginnings of Cary Inc | $4,858,268 | 5 | n/a |
| Primary Beginnings Child Development | $3,934,859 | 5 | n/a |
| Abc Land Inc II | $3,708,482 | 5 | n/a |
| Academically Based Child | $3,520,334 | 5 | n/a |
| Telamon Corporation | $3,373,572 | 5 | 1% |
| Wake County | $3,040,901 | 5 | n/a |
| The Happy Face Preschool | $2,970,482 | 5 | n/a |
| Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood | $2,669,658 | 5 | 19% |
| Kids First Academy Inc | $2,451,141 | 5 | n/a |
| Early Preschool & Learning Center LLC | $2,342,896 | 5 | n/a |
| Wanda's Little Hands Educational Center | $2,182,235 | 5 | n/a |
| Kuehg Corp Dba Kindercare Education LLC | $1,923,539 | 5 | n/a |
| Family Resource Center South Atlantic | $1,865,579 | 5 | 35% |
| A Safe Place Child Enrichment Center Inc | $1,776,699 | 5 | n/a |
| Little Destiny Literacy & Discovery Child Development Center | $1,427,543 | 5 | n/a |
| Preston Children's Academy | $1,378,098 | 5 | n/a |
| Method Child Development Center In | $1,339,066 | 5 | 32% |
| La Petite Academy | $1,268,232 | 3 | n/a |
| Little Hands 'N' Feet Child Care Center Inc | $1,264,314 | 5 | n/a |
| Creative Learning Enterprise | $1,254,688 | 5 | n/a |
| Buttons & Bows | $1,174,741 | 2 | n/a |
| The Shaw University | $1,089,761 | 5 | 1% |
| Frankie Lemmon School and Developmental Center | $974,593 | 5 | 8% |
| Little Believers Academy II | $827,032 | 5 | n/a |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh Inc | $804,867 | 5 | n/a |
| Early Years Inc | $546,925 | 4 | 0% |
| Tlc Operations Inc | $536,728 | 3 | 2% |
| Safechild | $498,094 | 5 | 3% |
| Triangle Area Parenting Support | $474,544 | 5 | 76% |
| The Methodist Home for Children Inc | $444,787 | 2 | 1% |
| Upper Room Christian Academy & Preschool | $407,070 | 1 | n/a |
| Bambino's Playschool | $357,000 | 3 | n/a |
| Kiddie Academy of Holly Springs | $329,402 | 2 | n/a |
| Triangle Academy Preschool | $280,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Passage Home Inc | $256,997 | 4 | 2% |
| Book Harvest | $242,637 | 2 | 2% |
| Apex United Methodist Church | $206,343 | 4 | n/a |
| Kelley Austin Kindercare | $203,535 | 1 | n/a |
| The Daniel Center for Math & Science Inc | $178,500 | 1 | 23% |
| Stepup Ministry | $148,900 | 2 | 4% |
| Fiesta Cristiana | $106,529 | 1 | n/a |
| Learning Together Inc | $104,625 | 1 | 8% |
| Hope Services LLC | $64,582 | 1 | n/a |
| DHIC Inc | $30,920 | 3 | 0% |
| Big Blue Marble LLC | $15,360 | 1 | n/a |
| Business and Education Leaders for Smart Start and Jobs | $15,000 | 3 | 11% |
| Rolesville Child Development Inc | $11,677 | 2 | n/a |
| Randolph County Partnership for Children Inc | $10,560 | 1 | n/a |
| Martin Pitt Partnership for Children Inc | $10,560 | 1 | 0% |
| Mecklenburg Partnership for Children | $10,560 | 1 | 0% |
| North Carolina Community of Coalitions | $10,000 | 1 | 46% |
| Rex Hospital Inc | $9,062 | 1 | 0% |
| Cas Management LLC | $6,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Gingerbread Childrens Corner | $3,283 | 1 | n/a |
| Lots of Love and Learning | $2,959 | 1 | n/a |
| Priceless Child Care Inc | $1,908 | 1 | n/a |
| Kreepers N Krawlers | $1,040 | 1 | n/a |
Plus 1 recipient with no EIN on record ($242k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Wake County Smart Start Inc supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 4 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 22 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Co-funders
Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.
Open a dossier: Early Years Inc · Triangle Community Foundation Inc · United Way of the Greater Triangle Inc · Childtrust Foundation · John Rex Endowment · Carolina Hurricanes Foundation · North Carolina Community Foundation · Chatham County Partnership for Children · Aj Fletcher Foundation · Duke University Health System Inc · John William Pope Foundation · The Leon Levine Foundation
How this is measured
About Wake County Smart Start Inc
- How much does Wake County Smart Start Inc give?
- Wake County Smart Start Inc reported 39 grants totaling $21,763,190 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 34 and 46 organizations a year over FY2021 to FY2024.
- What does Wake County Smart Start Inc fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2021 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (79%), Human Services (21%), Housing & Shelter (0%).
- Who are Wake County Smart Start Inc's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2021 to FY2025: Childcare Network Inc ($13M), Wake County Public Schools ($12M), Creative Schools Inc ($4.9M).
- Does Wake County Smart Start Inc fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 6% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Wake County Smart Start Inc?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Early Years Inc, Triangle Community Foundation Inc, United Way of the Greater Triangle Inc.
- Where is Wake County Smart Start Inc based?
- Wake County Smart Start Inc is based in NC.
Play a game based on Wake County Smart Start’s filings →